Freshmen Marc Herrmann will face tough singles competition playing at the top of the lineup.

Photo Courtesy Scott Bruhn/NU Media Relations

Courtesy: NU Media Relations

01/30/2013

The Nebraska men's tennis team (0-1) plays host to Illinois State (2-0) and No. 8 Oklahoma State (3-0) this weekend at the Nebraska Tennis Center. Play begins against Illinois State on Friday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. The Huskers then take on the Cowboys on Sunday, Feb. 3 at 10 a.m.

Tom Blackwell leads the Huskers after providing the team's lone victory in a 6-1 loss at No. 36 Louisville two weeks ago. Marc Hermann and Dusty Boyer will face tough tests at the top of the singles lineup.

Huskers Add Two for Spring SeasonThe Huskers added two student-athletes at the start of the spring semester to give Nebraska 13 players on its 2012-13 roster. Freshmen Chris Schindler and Andrew Dzulynsky became the newest Huskers.

Schindler comes to Nebraska from Hanau, Germany, where he reached the finals of his region (Hessen) twice as a junior player. This year his team won the Hessen Junior Team Championship. For the past four years he has been training in Spain.

" I like the fact that Chris is a good athlete," Nebraska Coach Kerry McDermott said. "He wants to prove himself to the team and the coaches. I see him battling for the 6-8 spot".

Dzulynsky comes to Nebraska from Florida. He was ranked in the top 10 for the 16's and 18's in the state. He received an ATP ranking in both singles and doubles of 1400.

" I am very happy to have Andrew playing high in our lineup," McDermott said. "I think the sky is the limit for him. I look forward to watching him grow in our program."

Nebraska in the National RankingsNebraska began the spring season at No. 74 in the ITA Divison I Men's Tennis Rankings. After falling at No. 36 Louisville, the Huskers slipped out of the top 75. The Huskers were ranked in the top 75 throughout the 2012 season, climbing as high as No. 38.

Looking AheadThe Huskers return to the Nebraska Tennis Center next weekend for two more weekend matches against top-50 foes. Nebraska takes on No. 45 Drake on Friday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m., before finishing off the challenging weekend weekend against No. 32 VCU Sunday, Feb. 10 at 10 a.m.